This invention relates to a toilet seat hinge for releasably securing a toilet seat to a toilet bowl. Easy removal of the toilet seat from the toilet bowl facilitates cleaning of the toilet bowl, toilet seat and toilet seat hinges. Ease of cleaning these components promotes hygiene.
Most toilet seats are pivotally secured to posts which are in turn secured to the toilet bowl flange by means of bolts extending through the flange. This assembly provides good stability. However, such an assembly hinders cleaning of the toilet bowl, especially between the posts.
Many different kinds of toilet seat release mechanisms have been devised to improve the ease of cleaning toilets. U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,780 discloses a releasable toilet seat hinge comprising a plate-like support unit, a pair of anchoring elements with lateral notches, and a pair of rotary locking pins with peripheral grooves. Rotation of each locking pin about a horizontal axis aligns the locking pin groove with the corresponding anchoring element notch, allowing the release of the support plate and attached toilet seat from the anchoring elements. U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,307 discloses an assembly for detachably securing a toilet seat to a toilet bowl, the assembly comprising a hinge with a socket which snaps onto a spherical head on the mounting post.